Nussknacker und Mausekönig

15

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck after the eponymous fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Music by Pjotr Tschaikowski, Ballet subscription big

Tue

18

Dec19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck after the eponymous fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Music by Pjotr Tschaikowski,

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Abstract

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Abstract

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Thanks to Piotr Tchaikovsky’s catchy music, The Nutcracker is one of the most popular works in the ballet repertoire.

The plot is based on a fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, one of the most famous writers of German Romanticism. However, while Hoffmann masterfully alternates between dream and reality and interweaves several narrative levels in his text, the story lost much of its fantastical, lugubrious romanticism on its way to becoming a ballet libretto. In most ballet productions since the première, the second act, for example, consists only of a practically plotless divertimento consisting of a series of dances and stage effects.

Christian Spuck was more interested in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s sinister fantasy than producing a saccharine Christmas ballet. In his version for Zurich Ballet, he wished to redirect the focus on to the original literary model. He therefore also reinstated the tale of Princess Pirlipat, who has been transformed into a nut monster, which E.T.A. Hoffmann tells as a background prequel to the Nutcracker.

In the workshop of Godfather Drosselmeier, which is reminiscent of an old-fashioned revue theatre in the set by Rufus Didwiszus, the figures in the ballet are given a new lease of life. Christian Spuck’s choreography plays with the great richness of figures in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, their bizarreness and energetic humour, but at the same time also gazes into the sombre depths of Romanticism.

Video

Trailer «Nussknacker und Mausekönig» - Ballett Zürich

Gallery

Photos «Nussknacker und Mausekönig»

Programmbuch

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Biographies

Christian Spuck

Christian Spuck comes from Marburg and was trained at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. He began his dance career with Jan Lauwers’ Needcompany and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Ensemble Rosas. In 1995 he became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet and served as the company’s in-house choreographer from 2001 to 2012. In Stuttgart he created fifteen world premieres, including the story ballet Lulu: A Monster Tragedy after Frank Wedekind, Der Sandmann and Das Fräulein von S. after E.T.A. Hoffmann. Christian Spuck has also worked with numerous renowned ballet companies in Europe and the USA. The Return of Ulysses (guest performance at the Edinburgh Festival) was created for the Royal Ballet of Flanders, and Woyzeck (after Georg Büchner) was premiered at the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo. The ballet Die Kinder, premiered at the Aalto Ballett Theater Essen, was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse. His ballet Leonce und Lena (also after Georg Büchner) was likewise premiered in Essen. It was subsequently taken over by the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and the Stuttgart Ballet. The world premiere of Poppea//Poppea for Gauthier Dance at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart was voted one of the ten most successful dance productions worldwide by the magazine Dance Europe in 2010 and was awarded the German Theatre Prize DER FAUST in 2011 as well as the Italian Danza/Danza Award. Christian Spuck has recently become increasingly active in the field of opera. Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice at the Staatsoper Stuttgart (2009) was followed by Verdi’s Falstaff at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden (2010), Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust (2014) and Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer (2017) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Since the 2012/13 season, Christian Spuck has been director of the Ballett Zürich. Thus far, his Romeo and Juliet, Leonce and Lena, Woyzeck and Der Sandmann have been shown here. The ballet Anna Karenina after Leo Tolstoy, which premiered in Zurich in 2014, was taken over by the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo, the Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow, the Korean National Ballet in Seoul, and the Bavarian State Ballet. Recent projects in Zurich included Verdi's Messa da Requiem (a co-production of the Opernhaus Zürich and Ballett Zürich) and the Nutcracker and Mouse King ballet. His latest ballet, Winterreise, will be premiered in October 2018.

Martin Gebhardt

Martin Gebhardt was a light designer and the master electrician at the Hamburg Ballett, where he worked closely with John Neumeier. In 2002, he came to the Opernhaus Zürich. Together with Heinz Spoerli and the Ballett Zürich he created In den Winden im Nichts, Allem nah, allem fern, Josephslegende, Peer Gynt, Schwanensee, Don Quichotte and Raymonda. Productions from the Hamburg Ballett and the Ballett Zürich led him to renowned theatres throughout Europe, Asia and America. At the Opernhaus Zürich, he was responsible for the lighting design of productions by Jürgen Flimm, Grischa Asagaroff, Matthias Hartmann, David Pountney, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, Achim Freyer, Johannes Schaaf and Christoph Marthaler. For the Salzburg Festival he created the lighting design for La bohème and a new version of Spoerli’s Der Tod und das Mädchen. In 2012, Martin Gebhardt became head of the lighting department at the Opernhaus Zürich and has been working regularly with Christian Spuck and other choreographers such as Douglas Lee and Marco Goecke ever since.

Dominik Slavkovský

Dominik Slavkovský is Slovak. After training at the Bratislava Dance Conservatory, he danced for five years in the ballet of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava, most recently as a demi-soloist. He has been a member of the Ballett Zürich since the 2014/15 season. In choreographies by Christian Spuck he has appeared in the title role of Woyzeck, as Drosselmeier in Nutcracker and Mouse King, as Coppelius in Der Sandmann, and as Paris in Romeo and Juliet. He has also danced in choreographies by George Balanchine, Uwe Scholz, Alexei Ratmansky, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, Nacho Duato, Marco Goecke, Edward Clug, James Kudelka, Vladimir Malakhov, and many others. He showed his choreographies How to save the world and Conspiracy as a part of the Young Choreographers series.

Jan Casier

Jan Casier was born in Belgium. He studied at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp. From 2008 to 2012 he was a member of the Royal Ballet of Flanders where he danced in ballets by John Cranko, William Forsythe, David Dawson, and Christian Spuck. He appeared in David Dawson's Faun(e) as a guest at the English National Ballet. From 2012 to 2014 he was a member of the Ballett Zürich, where he performed roles in numerous Christian Spuck ballets, including Leonce in Leonce and Lena, Paris in Romeo and Juliet, and the title role of Woyzeck. He also danced in choreographies by Edward Clug, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke, and Wayne McGregor. From 2014 to 2016 he was a member of the Semperoper Ballett Dresden. There he performed in choreographies by Aaron Watkins (Prince in TheNutcracker), William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson, and Alexander Ekman. In 2015 he appeared at the ballet gala in Taipei (Taiwan). He returned to the Ballett Zürich in 2016. Since his return, he has danced in Forsythe's Quintett, Godani’s rituals from another when and performed the title role of Faust - The Ballet by Edward Clug.

Meiri Maeda

Meiri Maeda is Japanese. She received her training at the Nobuko Okamoto Ballet Academy, at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, and at the Académie Princesse Grace in Monte-Carlo. After two seasons with the Junior Ballet, she joined the Ballett Zürich in the 2016/17 season. She has appeared in Forsythe’s In the middle, Ratmansky's Swan Lake reconstruction (Four Small Swans), and Emergence by Crystal Pite.

Michelle Willems

Michelle Willems is French. She studied at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and at the Atelier Rudra-Béjart in Lausanne. After two seasons with the Junior Ballet, she joined the Ballett Zürich in the 2016/17 season. She danced Kitty in Christian Spuck's Anna Karenina, Marie in Spuck's Nutcracker and Mouse King, and Gretchen in Edward Clug's Faust - The Ballet. She has also appeared in Quintett, workwithinwork and In the middle by William Forsythe, as well as in choreographies by Jiří Kylián.

Daniel Mulligan

Daniel Mulligan comes from Great Britain and studied at the Royal Ballet School in London. After two seasons with the Junior Ballet, he joined the Ballett Zürich in the 2009/10 season. He has appeared as a soloist in many of Heinz Spoerli's choreographies. He danced Mercutio/Benvolio in Christian Spuck's Romeo and Juliet as well as in ballets by Mats Ek (Sleeping Beauty), Hans van Manen (Solo, Kammerballett), Edward Clug (Chamber Minds, Le Sacre du printemps), Sol León/Paul Lightfoot (Skew-Whiff, Speak for Yourself), William Forsythe (Quintett), Jiří Kylián (Gods and Dogs), Ohad Naharin (Minus 16), Marco Goecke (Petrushka), Filipe Portugal (Corpus), Douglas Lee, and Crystal Pite. Recent leading roles have included Mephisto in Faust - The Ballet by Edward Clug, Fritz in Christian Spuck's Nutcracker and Mouse King and Stiva in Spuck's Anna Karenina.

Mark Geilings

Mark Geilings comes from Australia, where he was trained at the Australian Ballet School. From 2012 to 2015 he danced with the Leipzig Ballet and performed in choreographies by Uwe Scholz, Mario Schröder (including title role in Otello), Meryl Tankard (Cinderella), Ohad Naharin and Cayetano Soto. In the 2015/16 season he was a member of Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart, where he performed in Marco Goecke's Nijinsky. He has been a member of the Ballett Zürich since the 2016/17 season, where he has appeared in Petrushka by Marco Goecke, Kammerballett by Hans van Manen, Gods and Dogs by Jiří Kylián, and Lady with a Fan by Douglas Lee, among others.

William Moore

William Moore is British and studied at the Royal Ballet School in London. He has won prizes at international ballet competitions. He has belonged to the Stuttgart Ballet since 2005, and was appointed as principal dancer there in 2010. Important roles were Siegfried in Swan Lake, Lensky in Onegin and Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew (all by John Cranko), Armand in Neumeier's Lady of the Camellias, Leonce in Christian Spuck's Leonce and Lena, the title role in Marco Goecke's Orlando, Albrecht in Giselle by Anderson/Savina, Colas in Ashton's La fille mal gardée. In 2012 Moore was awarded the German Theater Prize DER FAUST. Since the 2012/13 season he has been principal dancer with the Ballett Zürich. Important roles include Romeo in Spuck's Romeo and Juliet, Vronsky in Anna Karenina, the Nutcracker in Spuck's Nutcrackerand Mouse King, Mephisto in Faust by Edward Clug and Petrushka in the choreography by Marco Goecke. He has also appeared in pieces by Wayne McGregor, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, and Jiří Kylián. In 2018 he received the Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballett Zürich.

Alexander Jones

Alexander Jones comes from the United Kingdom. He received his dance training at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 2004 he won the gold medal in the Adeline Genée Competition and the Dame Ninette de Valois Prize. In the 2005/06 season he became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he was appointed principal dancer in 2011/12. In Stuttgart he has appeared as Armand Duval in Neumeier's Lady of the Camellias, Romeo in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, in the title roles of Cranko’s Onegin and Kevin O'Days Hamlet, as Basilio in Maximiliano Guerra's Don Quixote and in MacMillan's Lied von der Erde. He has also danced in choreographies by Balanchine, Robbins, Ashton, Schaufuss, Tetley, Béjart, Haydée, van Manen, Forsythe, Lee, McGregor, Clug, and Spuck. Alexander Jones has been principal dancer of the Ballett Zürich since the 2015/16 season. Here he has danced Prince Siegfried in Alexei Ratmansky's Swan Lake reconstruction, Albrecht in Patrice Bart’s Giselle and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Nathanael in Der Sandmann and Vronsky in Anna Karenina (all by Christian Spuck), among others.

Yen Han

Chinese-American dancer Yen Han studied with Stefan Mucsi and Paul Maure in Los Angeles, at the Hartford Ballet School, at the San Francisco Ballet, and at the Beijing Dance Academy. After engagements with the Jeune Ballet de France and the Ballet de Nice, she was engaged as a principal dancer in the Ballett Zürich in 1994, where she has proven to be one of the most versatile and charismatic dancers in a variety of leading roles. Heinz Spoerli choreographed Le Sacre du printemps, PeerGynt, Daphnis et Chloé, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for her. She worked with Mats Ek on Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), and at the Royal Swedish Opera on Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). Other important choreographers she has worked with include Nicholas Beriozoff, Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Mauro Bigonzetti, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Patrice Bart, Lin Hwai Min, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Martin Schläpfer, and Filipe Portugal. She has been seen in works by Christian Spuck, as Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Court Master (Leonce and Lena), Kitty (Anna Karenina), in Messa da Requiem and as the Clown (Nutcracker and Mouse King). In 2013 she was honored with the Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballett Zürich and the Outstanding Female Dancer prize at the Swiss Dance Awards.

Matthew Knight

Matthew Knight is British. He completed his training at the Elmhurst School and the Royal Ballet School in London. After a season with the Junior Ballet, he joined the Ballett Zürich in the 2013/14 season. He presented works by Jane Doe and Mocambo as part of the Young Choreographers series. He has danced in choreographies by Mats Ek (Cavalier in Sleeping Beauty), William Forsythe, Marco Goecke (Moor in Petrushka), Jiří Kylián, Douglas Lee, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Hans van Manen, Wayne McGregor, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, and Filipe Portugal. He was Leonce in Christian Spuck's Leonce and Lena, Nathanael in Spuck's Sandmann and the Clown in Spuck's Nutcracker and Mouse King. In 2018 he also appeared as Faust in Edward Clug's ballet of the same name. In 2016 he was awarded the Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballett Zürich.

Eléonore Guérineau

Eléonore Guérineau is French. After her training at the Paris Opera Ballet School, she danced at the Paris Opera Ballet from 2005 to 2018, since 2013 as a Sujet (demi- soloist). Her main roles in Paris were Gourouli in Les deux pigeons by Albert Aveline, Lise in La fille mal gardée by Frederick Ashton and the title role in Giselle by Perrot/Coralli. She danced other important roles in Bergamasques by Jean-Guillaume Bart, Donizetti by Manuel Legris, Seasons Canon by Crystal Pite and Faun by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. She has also appeared in Artifact, In the Middle, of any ifand, and The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude by William Forsythe. In 2009 she was awarded the AROP Award of the Paris Opera Ballet. She performed as Kitri in DonQuichote in Bangkok. She also completed studies as a ballet teacher. This is Eléonore Guérineau’s first season as a member of the Ballett Zürich.

Elizabeth Wisenberg

Elizabeth Wisenberg comes from the USA. She studied at the Washington School of Ballet and the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto. Her first engagement took her to the Boston Ballet from 2004 to 2006. She won a bronze medal at the Youth America Grand Prix in the junior division in 2001 and a silver medal at the National Youth Ballet Competition in 2003. In the 2006/07 season, she became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, where she has danced as a demi-soloist since 2013. She has performed in choreographies by John Cranko (Olga in Onegin), Christian Spuck (Lena and School Master in Leonce and Lena), Demis Volpi (Kantorka in Krabat), John Neumeier, George Balanchine, Peter Schaufuss, Kenneth McMillan, Jiří Kylián, Marcia Haydée, and Marco Goecke. She has been a member of the Ballett Zürich since the 2015/16 season. She has appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, as Clara in Der Sandmann and as Kitty and Dolly in Anna Karenina (all by Christian Spuck).

Mélissa Ligurgo

Mélissa Ligurgo comes from Belgium and studied at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp. She danced in John Cranko’s Onegin (Tatiana), as well as in ballets by Forsythe, Kylián, Dawson, and Robbins, at the Royal Ballet of Flanders. At the Ballet Basel she performed in Preljocaj’s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) in the 2011/12 season. Since the 2012/13 season she has belonged to the Ballett Zürich and has danced Lena in Leonce and Lena by Christian Spuck and Frau Mauserinks in Nutcracker and Mouse King. She has also appeared in choreographies by Wayne McGregor and Douglas Lee. As part of the Young Choreographers series, she presented Mind Games, Individuo and Klastos.

Cohen Aitchison-Dugas

Cohen Aitchison-Dugas is Canadian. He studied at the École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec and at Canada's National Ballet School. In the 2015/16 season he danced in the Nutcracker with the Grands Ballets Canadiens. After two seasons with the Junior Ballet, he joined the Ballett Zürich this season. He has performed in Jacopo Godani’s rituals from another when, in Filipe Portugal's Behind the mirror and danced the role of the Mouse King in Christian Spuck's Nutcracker and Mouse King, among others.

Constanza Perotta Altube

Italian-Argentinian dance Constanza Perotta Altube studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and at the Ballet School of Milan’s La Scala. After her first engagements in the ballet of the Teatro Colón and the Victor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, she has been a member of the Ballett Zürich since the 2009/10 season. Here she danced the Emerald Fairy in Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty and appeared in choreographies by William Forsythe (New Sleep, workwithinwork, In the middle) and Jiří Kylián (Falling Angels, Gods and Dogs).

Elena Vostrotina

Elena Vostrotina comes from St. Petersburg. She received her ballet education at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. In 2003 she became a member of the Mariinsky Ballet. There she danced among others Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (Petipa/Ivanov), Myrtha in Giselle (Coralli/Perrot), Queen of the Dryads in DonQuixote (Gorsky) and in Approximate Sonata (Forsythe). In 2006 she was engaged by Aaron S. Watkin at the Semperoper Ballett Dresden. Here she was appointed principal dancer and danced a wide repertoire of classical, neoclassical, and modern ballets. She has collaborated with renowned choreographers and performed at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theater in Moscow, at the State Theater Novosibirsk, at the “Roberto Bolle and Friends” gala and at the Ballets Bubeníček. Elena Vostrotina has been a principal dancer at the Ballett Zürich since the 2017/18 season. Last season she appeared in Zurich as Odette/Odile in Ratmansky's Swan Lake reconstruction and as Witch/Helena of Troy in Edward Clug's Faust - The Ballet.

Katja Wünsche

Katja Wünsche comes from Dresden and was trained at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. She has won prizes at numerous ballet competitions. From 1999 to 2012 she danced in the Stuttgart Ballet, since 2006 as a principal dancer. She danced leading roles in choreographies by John Cranko (Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Onegin), John Neumeier (A Streetcar Named Desire, Lady of the Camellias), Marcia Haydée (SleepingBeauty, La Sylphide, La fille mal gardée) and Christian Spuck (Lulu, Der Sandmann, Leonce and Lena, Das Fräulein von S.), and ballets by Forsythe, Kylián, León/Lightfoot, and Goecke. In 2007 she was awarded the German Dance Prize Future (for promising young artists) and the German Theater Prize DER FAUST. Katja Wünsche has been a principal dancer with the Ballett Zürich since the 2012/13 season. She has been seen in Zurich as Juliet in Spuck's Romeo and Juliet, Lena in Leonce and Lena, Marie in Woyzeck, Anna Karenina and Kitty in Anna Karenina, and Clara in Der Sandmann. She has also performed in choreographies by Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, Martin Schläpfer, Wayne McGregor and Marco Goecke. In 2014 she was awarded the Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballett Zürich.

Yannick Bittencourt

Yannick Bittencourt is Swiss. He was born in Bern and he studied at the AS Ballettschule in Switzerland, the Opéra de Paris Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School in London. After an engagement with the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company in New York, he became a member of the Paris Opera Ballet in 2007, where he was appointed demi-soloist (Sujet) in 2010. In Paris he has danced Prince Siegfried in Nureyev's Swan Lake, James in Pierre Lacotte's La Sylphide, Daphnis in Benjamin Millepieds Daphnis et Chloé, and Benvolio and Paris in Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet. He has also appeared in key roles in ballets by William Forsythe, John Neumeier, José Martinez, Serge Lifar, Wayne McGregor, and George Balanchine. He has performed in galas at the National Theatre Tokyo and the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre (Benois de la Danse Ceremony Gala). This is his first season as a member of the Ballett Zürich.

Nussknacker und Mausekönig15, 18, 26, 29 Dec 2018; 01 Jan 2019

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